Pretending
by WalkingIvy
Summary: COMPLETE! Aggravated that House thinks he knows him so well, Wilson convinces Chase to pretend to be in a relationship with him. Only problem is that they're falling for each other for real. Surprisingly in character Wilson/Chase
1. Chapter 1

Title: Pretending

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Rating: K+

.o0o.

"Dr. Wilson?" Chase questioned, looking a little uncomfortable from his position in the doorway of Wilson's office, a refuge he'd never breached before. Wilson quickly ushered him in and set aside his work for the moment. He busied himself straightening the piles as he organized his thoughts and resolutely did not look at the other doctor. He must have spent just a few too many seconds preparing his speech because Chase had leaned forward in his chair, attempting to catch Wilson's eyes. "You paged me?"

Chase had not only been startled by the unexpected interruption from his differential diagnosis with House but more startled by who had sent the message. Wilson had never initiated contact with the blonde before, just as the intensivist had never bridged the gap that had appeared between them. It's not like they ever had any reason to interact; their areas of expertise were generally unrelated. Their contact had been limited to the simple nod of acknowledgment as they passed in the halls.

"Ah, yes." Wilson nodded, still refusing any eye-contact. "I hadn't expected you so quickly." And he hadn't. He'd specifically written 'not urgent' in the message so that Chase would take his time and arrive in a good mood. Neither of his goals had been achieved. Chase had come within minutes and looked hassled, though it was always hard to tell with him because he tended to keep his emotions capped and his face neutral. Wilson chalked up any residual annoyance to working with House as opposed to being called into his office.

"I wasn't busy." Chase responded with a half-shrug and relaxed back into the chair resting in from of Wilson's desk. In truth, he'd seen the message as godsent and forced himself not to thank Wilson profusely. The differential diagnosis had been simple enough but House was refusing to let them go before they explored every possibility, though it was clear from his demeanor that he'd already solved the case. His pager going off had given him the excuse he needed to get out of there. As an intensivist, it was not unusual for him to receive pages to the ICU that no one else got. Nor was it unusual for him to bolt from the room after getting a page. It was a maneuver he had gladly executed.

Wilson gave the other doctor a searching look as Chase seemed to relax more. "House annoying you that much?"

"He's trying to pick our brains over a case he's already solved." Chase grumbled defensively, though no one would blame him if he was simply annoyed by House himself.

"It keeps him from clinic work." Wilson commented agreeably. They sat in awkward silence for a minute, Chase trying not to let his curiosity override his manners and Wilson trying to let his manners override his nervousness.

"Is it a case?" Chase prompted, shifting in his seat to get more comfortable.

"Uh, no. It has nothing to do with work." Chase nodded amiably, still on his high from escaping House. "There's this betting pool going, actually. It's a thing the nurses do on their down-time to keep themselves occupied. It's kind of like horse-races, really. The more unlikely the outcome you're betting on, the smaller your investment and the greater your return."

Chase immediately picked up on the minor detail Wilson had left out. "And what are they betting on?"

"They're bored nurses." Wilson declared, as if that explained everything. At Chase's blank stare, he continued. "Relationships, of course. Who's going to go out with whom and whatnot."

"O...kay." Drawled the other doctor. He didn't say 'And why are you telling me this?' because there was no need. It read plainly in his expression.

"The betting pool is actually getting quite massive and there's one for nearly every doctor. According to the latest, chances are, I'm supposed to either go out with Nurse Cathleen or Doctor Young. There's also a point eight percent chance I'm already dating House." Wilson sighed in a way that says he was far too used to this while Chase snorted.

"What about me?"

"You apparently have an equal chance of going out with any of the nurses because they've all put their own names in."

Chase rolled his eyes and quickly shifted the topic. "Three questions: Why do you know about this? Why do you care about this? And why are you telling me?"

At this point, Wilson stopped making eye contact and returned to straightening up his desk. "Nurse Brenda has decided to bet that everyone is gay because it will give her the most return on her money. She's told the people she feels are most likely to actually be gay that she'll give them half the profits if they'll go date someone of the same sex. That'd be a couple thousand dollars per person."

"You're not seriously considering doing that, are you?" Wilson gave a half-hearted shrug and waited for it to click. "And what does this have to do with me-" The oncologist could almost see the light come on above Chase's head. "Oh." Chase stood abruptly, a hint of anger slipping through his mask as he stared at Wilson who was starting to feel all of ten inches tall. This was not going well. "I'm not that hard-pressed for cash. I didn't think you were either." Unexpectedly, Chase flopped back down in the chair, all traces of anger vanished, replaced by curiosity. "You're not." He said with finality. "But you still want to... to... go out with me? Why? Aren't you married?" The last part was an afterthought.

"I'm divorced. And not really 'go out,' just pretend to." Wilson quickly clarified, relieved by the turn of events. He truly did not know Chase all that well and hadn't been surprised at his initial reaction. It was more surprising to see him sitting there so calmly again. Chase was still looking at him expectantly. "House." He let his own annoyance slip into the tone. "He assumes that I have no life and he knows everything about me and the worst part is that I think he's right. I can't do _anything_ without him knowing I'll do it before I even think about doing it. I want to send him down a few pegs. I want to see _shock_ on his face for once. Mostly I just want him to stop thinking I'm so damn predictable."

Chase's eyes narrowed slightly in thought and Wilson wondered, not for the first time, what he had been thinking when he decided to page the other doctor. "I would _love_ to deflate that ego of his." Chase said the word love like a starving man said the word food and for a minute, Wilson thought he might actually agree. "What I can't understand, though, is why you chose me. You could have picked any guy in the hospital and probably have better luck convincing House that you were dating. We've been acquainted for years and we've never had this long of a conversation before. Why me?"

"Did you ever notice how House picks on you more than the others?"

"Yeah..." Chase had always thought it was just his imagination, but here Wilson seemed to be confirming it.

"He thinks of you as a puzzle. One that he hasn't been able to solve, despite working on it for years. He thought you were a loyal puppy but you ratted him out to Vogler." Chase flinched but Wilson pressed unerringly on. "Foreman thinks you're just a rich kid but you took out loans which you're still paying off to get through college. Cameron says you're unfeeling but you're the one that sits by bedsides and reads books to little children. The nurses think you don't have a prejudiced bone in your body but you don't like fat people. I thought you'd given up on your father but his death still-"

"Stop." Chase interrupted. "I get your point. I'm a puzzle."

"More importantly, you're a puzzle House hasn't solved. It would infuriate him to no end to think I had solved it before him." Wilson waited as the other doctor tossed the idea around in his head. Maybe he shouldn't have brought up all those examples. He'd clearly hit a nerve. But Chase _was_ a puzzle and he had no idea what to expect from the other man. He certainly hadn't expected his quiet, almost cheerful,

"Okay."

.o0o.


	2. Chapter 2

.o0o.

Wilson blinked a few times in surprise. He hadn't really thought his plan would work.

"We have to pretend to be in a relationship without anyone finding out that we're pretending. Moreover, we have to pretend that we don't want them to know about the relationship we're only pretending to be in so that they'll know about it?"

"Right." The oncologist agreed slowly, trying to work out what Chase had actually said. Chase asked. "How are we supposed to do that?"

Wilson had been too preoccupied about how to get the other man to agree than to think of ways of executing their plan. "Well," Wilson began, making it up as he went, "We just start dropping little hints. It won't have to be much for House to pick up on. Like, you can come here every once in a while, maybe bring your lunch or some coffee."

"And close the blinds?" Chase smirked.

Wilson nodded, "Find excuses to ask for a oncologist consultant. Just little things here and there."

Chase was nodding. "This should be fun." He declared, happy to have an excuse to play with House's head and determinedly not thinking about the implications of what he had just agreed to. House would certainly still harass him once he found out, even if their plan worked. He'd probably not be able to get a date for months because all the nurses would think he was gay. He'd likely just resigned himself to several awkward moments with Wilson and several hours a week to his company, at least. Which would probably not be fun. He was, after all, House's best friend. But he wasn't thinking about that.

When he'd seen Wilson's plainly hopeful and partially desperate expression, he'd found himself silently damning the consequences and giving in just to see Wilson's delighted expression. But he wasn't thinking about that either.

.o0o.


	3. Chapter 3

.o0o.

The first time Wilson had suddenly appeared beside him, Chase had almost jumped. He stopped himself at the last second and glanced over at the other man with a half-smile which was quickly returned. He was surprised by how easily he fell into conversation with the other man. Wilson didn't seem to have a problem keeping up a conversation, even when Chase didn't really respond, uncertain of how to react. He talked about his latest patient and his frustrations over the case as they walked down the hallway and into the elevator. He was good at casual, Chase decided almost immediately. Even he was convinced the pat on his shoulder had been completely casual as Wilson got off the elevator and made his way to his office.

Chase had half expected to see him appear several times throughout the day but he never did. They couldn't suddenly be the best of friends, they'd have to work up to it. He didn't realize he was supposed to take the next step until Friday. After all, friendships were supposed to be two-way streets, House being the exception to that rule. So Chase dutifully sat beside him in the cafeteria and returned the half-smile that was sent his way and he picked through his salad. Wilson, having been almost done with his food, left after just a few short minutes, patting Chase's shoulder on his way out.

By the end of the second week, they had silently come to a mutual decision about when they would eat and held up light conversations, usually about work, and the casual parting pat on his shoulder Chase had come to expect. It was also by the end of the second week that Wilson began to enjoy their lunches and his conversations with the blonde but at the same time realize that he didn't know anything about the other man who managed to keep his private life much more private than Wilson. Chase may have been House's puzzle but he was becoming a mystery for Wilson.

After a month, no one was surprised by the sight of Chase carrying two lunch trays into Wilson's office or the two walking down the halls together.

.o0o.


	4. Chapter 4

.o0o.

House was grumpy. He knew he was grumpy but he just didn't give a damn. Wilson was no longer appearing in the cafeteria so he'd been forced to pay for his own food. It was getting ridiculous. Two weeks and he'd not mooched a cent off his so-called best friend. What had the world come to?

Usually, Wilson would come up with new ways to keep from paying for House's lunch but this latest one was certainly the trickiest. It had taken House all this time to figure out what was going on. Chase was bringing him his food so House, clearly the victim in this situation, no longer had a chance to steal it.

Today, however, House followed his intensivist up to Wilson's office, ignoring the suspicious looks that were cast his way and lifted the tray from Chase's hands in front of the door. "Thanks." House added, with his usual snark and shooed the blonde away. Chase shrugged and left, not looking half as disgruntled as House had hoped.

"Thank-" Wilson stopped as he looked up to see House standing there with his tray. He knew this would happen eventually.

"You stopped buying me lunch." House accused.

"No, I stopped letting you steal mine." Wilson responded, quickly taking the tray away from his friend before his lunch became House's lunch. House frowned and stole some fries before flopping onto the couch.

"Chase." He said, after a minute of munching.

"Wilson." Wilson responded, pointing to his chest like Tarzan and Jane. "Chase is the one you stole my lunch from."

House exaggeratedly pulled himself up from the couch and rested his chin on his cane. He spoke with a deliberate slowness that one usually saves for children, stupid people and foreigners or some combination of the three. "I'm talking about your new best friend. The one you're buying lunches for now."

Wilson looked unimpressed. "He's buying his own lunches and is generous to bring me mine. I haven't replaced you."

"Why are you hanging out with Chase so much, anyway? I mean, come on, it's Chase!" He added the last part as if it made everything make sense.

"He doesn't steal from me." Wilson pointed out blandly.

"Fine." House relented like he was making the largest compromise he could think of. "I suppose you can buy lunch for the both of us."

.o0o.


	5. Chapter 5

.o0o.

Once House had discovered their meetings, Chase stopped bringing Wilson lunch and started bringing him breakfast while House returned to his normal monopolization of Wilson's lunch hour and money. "You don't have to bring me breakfast, you know. House will never be up this early to think about it."

Chase shook his head, "He'll hear the rumors eventually. And this is better, we can keep this up indefinitely." Wilson smiled, secretly relieved that Chase had an excuse ready because he had already started to miss their conversations during lunch. After a while, Chase had started to close the blinds and lock the door.

"Why do you lock the door?" Wilson had asked.

"Just think of the rumors that will start if someone tries to find you." Chase replied, clearly enjoying this game and already thinking ten steps ahead.

"House officially thinks of us as friends." Wilson declared, rather randomly.

Chase raised his eyebrows. "I think of us as friends."

Surprised once again by Chase's unexpected reaction, it took Wilson a minute to respond, "So do I."

There was an uncomfortable moment between them before Chase prompted, "House?"

"Yeah, he called you my new best friend."

"What did you say?"

Wilson thought back the week or so since it had happened. "I said I hadn't replaced him."

When Chase laughed, the oncologist decided that he definitely wanted to hear that sound again, as frequently as possible. "That was perfectly ambiguous."

"Anyway, I was thinking maybe we should move further in our 'relationship.' It's been almost six weeks." Wilson continued awkwardly. "Feed the rumor mill a little."

Chase shrugged as he loosened his tie – just a little – and ran a hand through his hair quickly, Wilson was about to mirror the actions when Chase stopped him. "No. You would notice if your tie was messed up and fix it."

"You wouldn't?" As if to prove his point, the intensivist tugged up his shirt a bit more before slipping from the room. Wilson decided that this was going to be complicated.

.o0o.


	6. Chapter 6

.o0o.

House had always been able to take little clues and pull something together. He knew what sort of problem they were looking at before most people knew there was a problem. He was the uncontested champion of puzzles. But there was one puzzle he had begrudgingly, and drunkenly, confessed to Wilson that he could not solve. Chase. What was it that made that man tick? How did he still come in the room smiling when House spent every minute they were together trying to squash that smile? And just what was he doing with House's Wilson? He should get his own.

House fumed silently until the man in question flounced into the room, looking slightly more disheveled than normal and more than a little surprised to see House. "Oh, hi. I didn't expect you here this early."

"Damn! I had my money on Cameron coming in first."

There was a moment of awkward silence as they both attempted to find something to say. At least, it was awkward for Chase as he attempted to find something to say. House looked thoughtfully at the board where he'd written up new symptoms, content to let the silence reign.

Chase was saved by Cameron and Foreman's entrance. They both halted in surprise at seeing House so early but neither chose to comment on it. "Differential diagnosis?" House asked, trying to take their minds off of his early arrival. He wasn't thinking about the case, though, he was thinking about Chase and the apparent veritableness of the coffee bringing rumors which meant that staking out his claim on Wilson had clearly not worked. More importantly, he was thinking of the significance of the closed blinds to Wilson's office. What was Chase after? Was he trying to be friendly or was there a personal matter he needed to talk to Wilson about? Was the reason he kept trying to bring up tumors and cancer in their debates because they were on his mind or because Wilson was on his mind? The Chase Puzzle had jumped in importance from niggling curiosity to dying need to know.

.o0o.


	7. Chapter 7

.o0o.

Chase slipped into his office around one o'clock, probably on break, though he didn't have a lunch with him. He sat on Wilson's couch, resting his feet on the arm and apparently unconcerned by the sunlight filtering in to land directly on his closed eyes. He didn't speak, waiting patiently for the other doctor to finish up his paperwork, or at least reach a point where he could stop. Chase was more similar to House than either of them were willing to admit, but this was one difference that Wilson relished. Chase had the patience and manners to wait until Wilson had time for him.

The oncologist finished his last thought and shuffled the papers together, setting them aside. He meant to glance over at the other man but his eyes were trapped. The sun was glinting off his blond hair, casting a halo around his head and making his pale skin almost glow. Wilson had known, intellectually, that Chase was handsome. He had heard from the nurses that he was cute. And despite having never before thought another man was attractive, Wilson would be hard pressed at that moment to say Chase was anything less than beautiful. His eyes slid down the other doctor's slender frame, as if pulled by some unseen force, but refused to acknowledge what might have been attraction.

Wilson was exceedingly grateful that Chase did not bother to open his eyes and confirm that the other had completed his task because he could only imagine the awkwardness of having been caught staring. He would have also been caught jumping slightly when Chase's voice startled him from his trance. "Any idea why House was here so early?"

"No." Why did his voice suddenly sound so raspy? He took a drink from his water bottle, allowing himself just a minute longer to look at the body sprawled on his couch before resolutely training his eyes elsewhere. "House invited me over for pizza tonight. I said I had plans."

"Um... have fun?" Chase raised a protective hand from the sunlight before lazily opening his eyes to look at Wilson.

"My plans were to invite you over." He didn't mention that said plans had only occurred to him after seeing Chase lying there on his couch and he had the sudden desire to see Chase lying there on his couch at home as well. "I can cook." He added, after seeing Chase's dubious expression.

"We don't literally have to go out, you know."

"I know." Wilson agreed hurriedly, but did not rescind his offer.

"I think I had better start calling you James."

.o0o.


	8. Chapter 8

.o0o.

Wilson contemplated his response for several minutes after Chase had ducked out of the room before deciding that he did, in fact, have a date that evening. He waited patiently until six, filling out forms and impatiently until seven, doodling in the margins. At seven oh one precisely, he messaged Chase, _'Coming?' _

_'House.'_

_'Need help?'_

_'Please!'_ Wilson smiled, deciding that his chosen form of rescue was worth any bodily harm that might be inflicted and crossed the threshold into House's lair.

"I thought you had plans." House said, not looking up from his writing on the board.

"I do." Wilson replied, waiting until his friend had turned completely to face him before dropping the bomb. "You're keeping him."

From the corner of his eye, Wilson could see Chase's face go pink and acquire a surprised and slightly horrified expression but that was nothing compared to House. For once, the sadist was at a complete loss for words, his mouth gaping open and the pure shock that had taken over his face had Wilson struggling to keep from laughing. He would pay for it later, he would suffer innumerable taunts and jibes, and Chase probably humiliating comments, once House got back on his feet. But that expression was priceless. Wilson only wished he had brought a camera.

House turned back to the board, writing another possible cause and then capped his marker, turning to stare directly at Chase who was looking at anything but his boss. "Coughing up blood guy is stable for now. Chase, go home." House caught Wilson's eye and they both knew there would be a Conversation, which was fine with the oncologist, he had officially piqued House's curiosity.

Chase was speeding down the hall in under a minute, the blush still a vibrant red against his pale skin, as Wilson fell in step beside him. "I can't believe you did that." Chase groaned, looking for all the world that he would be hitting his head against a wall right now if he hadn't been walking.

"I thought the point was for him to know."

"Yeah, him. Not Cameron and Foreman."

Wilson shrugged, "They would have found out sooner or later."

"I'd rather it was later. This will be all over the hospital by tomorrow."

"You knew what this would entail going into it." The dark haired man was beginning to sound a little nervous.

"Some warning would have been nice."

"You're right." Wilson conceded easily as they arrived at the parking lot. "I'm sorry."

"No you're not." Chase stated, but there was no heat behind his words. "I'll follow you?"

.o0o.


	9. Chapter 9

.o0o.

Despite it's rough start, the evening went over well. Wilson made some Italian dish that had Chase memorizing the name for later dinner requests. The blonde stood in the doorway rather uselessly while Wilson cooked, chatting about nothing at all but comfortable enough with each other to not have to say anything important. The conversation was light all through dinner, Chase complimenting Wilson's cooking skills while Wilson explained the finer details of the trade.

When they'd finally finished eating, Chase sat back in his chair for a minute before declaring, "I understand why House keeps you around." He picked up his plate and slipped into the kitchen, "Though I can't fathom how he's still skinny."

Wilson followed the other in, his own plate in hand, "I have a suspicion that he doesn't eat when I'm not around. His own cooking is lethal and he's too stingy to get delivery. He might have to tip the delivery boy or something crazy like that."

Chase laughed and Wilson tried to ignore the sudden beat his heart had skipped, deciding he had simply imagined it. By silent mutual agreement, they moved into the living room and flipped through the channels on the TV before they found something decent to watch. Chase had curled up on one end of the couch, his back in the corner between the back and arm while Wilson sat casually in the middle, close enough to touch but not so close as to force unwanted touches. Sometime during the show, Chase had slid his cold toes under Wilson's thigh. The oncologist had started, looking down at the intruding appendages and up at Chase who was conveniently watching the show and back to the television, sliding a hand to rest on the sock-clad feet but otherwise not commenting.

"What will House do now?" Chase questioned when the credits came up.

"Once his initial shock wears off," Wilson began, smiling at the remembrance of said expression, "Which will definitely be by tomorrow, he'll assume I'm trying to trick him."

"Which is a fair assumption." Chase added.

"We'll just have to act like a couple until we've convinced him. He may be a bit more of a pain in the ass than usual." The blonde snorted. "But we'll have wrong-footed him which we can use to our advantage."

And suddenly Chase was sitting with his back the the TV and his face inches from Wilson's own, making the older man start. "You're going to have a hard time convincing House if you jump every time I get near you." Chase informed him, his eyebrows raising.

And even though the movement was slow and very clear Wilson was still surprised by Chase's lips on his own, just barely touching as his breath warmed his face. Closing his eyes, the oncologist responded in kind, ghosting his lips against the other's. They separated to breathe but Wilson's hands seemed to have a mind of their own, they laced his fingers through the other's hair, reveling in the soft smoothness of the strands, and pushed his head closer so they could kiss again, this time harder and more demanding.

And suddenly Chase was gone, standing several feet away, slipping on his shoes and grabbing his coat. "It's getting late." He said, as he pulled on his leather coat, looking apologetic. Wilson only nodded, surprised by the turn of events. Was he that bad a kisser? But Chase was still staring at his lips and it was past eleven at night so Wilson dismissed his worries.

The younger doctor tensed slightly when Wilson approached. "You don't have to do this, you know." He said, surprising them both.

Chase leaned in, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips in response. "We should do this again soon, James." And then he was gone.

Wilson didn't brush his teeth that night. He wondered, as he lie awake in bed for a few more hours, if he should really be enjoying that vanilla-like taste Chase had left in his mouth quite as much as he was.

.o0o.


	10. Chapter 10

.o0o.

"You're not dating Chase."

Wilson didn't bother looking up at House's sudden intrusion. "I'm not?"

"No." House laid down sloppily on the couch, going for nonchalance, but it was clear by the way he didn't immediately find something to occupy his hands with that Wilson had gotten his complete attention.

"Is that a I'm not allowed to or a I haven't been?"

"Both." House replied without missing a beat.

Wilson finally looked up, resigning himself to being unable to get work done while House was in the room. "Why not?"

"Because he's my employee and you're straight."

"Just because someone works for you doesn't mean you can decide who they date. And why do you think I'm straight?" It was a hard earned and fine tuned skill but Wilson's face gave nothing away, only appearing mildly curious.

"Hmmm.... How about – the wives?"

"That doesn't necessarily mean I'm straight."

Then House did what he normally does when faced with the possibility of being wrong. Change the topic. "But why Chase?!"

"Why not?"

"He's a self-centered suck-up with no backbone to speak of."

"You really don't know him at all, do you?"

Not only did this seem to hit the nail on the head, but it infuriated House to no end. He didn't even bother to come up with some witty retort as he stormed out of the room, probably to find a duckling or two to torment.

.o0o.


	11. Chapter 11

.o0o.

Wilson invited Chase out repeatedly over the next few weeks whenever Chase found the time to bring in some coffee in the morning. At first, he was sure the blonde was simply embarrassed but as time went on and he looked more and more exhausted, Wilson realized that House was dumping inordinate amounts of crap on him to do. Through some creative prying, he was able to confirm his suspicions. One morning, he came in without his coffee and, without so much as a hi, collapsed onto the couch and slept.

The oncologist waited a full hour, watching the intensivist sleep before deciding that this was completely ridiculous. (He would, of course, later deny that he had been watching Chase sleep for any reason other than caring for his health. After all, the blonde was looking bedraggled and thin, probably not eating and definitely not sleeping.) He marched into House's office, past the conference room where Foreman and Cameron were going through a new case, looking all too awake for the state of their coworker and planted his feet in front of House's desk. "Yes?" House drawled, looking at him over his feet propped up on his desk. "Have you seen my wombat? He's late."

"If you keep him on these crazy hours, he's going to fall asleep during surgery or something else just as dangerous. You've crossed a line from annoying to illegal. I'm taking him home. And so help me, if you try to punish him for being human and needing sleep, I will tell Cuddy what you've done and you'll be doing nothing but clinic duty for the next month."

House didn't comment as Wilson stormed out of his office, earning confused and speculative looks from his other ducklings. He didn't comment because he didn't have anything to say. He had been so sure that this had all been just a ploy, that Wilson would walk in here one morning and say, "Gotcha!" but he never did. So House decided to test his theory. When Chase could no longer drag himself to work without one word from Wilson, he would know that they'd been playing him. But they'd both surprised him. Not only had Chase been able to run twice as long than he'd expected without proper sleep and without complaining, Wilson HAD come in to Chase's defense. Now that he'd confirmed they were together, his next task was to break them up. That ought to be easy enough.

.o0o.


	12. Chapter 12

.o0o.

Chase was sleeping so peacefully, Wilson was loath to wake him up. Wilson called Cuddy and told her that he was using one of his vacation days, even managing to coax her off the line without divulging why he was suddenly going home. He glanced over at Chase again and decided that it was time to wake him up. He would sleep better in a real bed anyway.

Brushing Chase's hair away from his face, appreciating the softness of it, even as he told himself he shouldn't, Wilson shook him gently. "Come on, Chase, it's time to get up."

"No." The blonde muttered, shifting away from Wilson.

Wilson rolled his eyes which then landed on Chase's pager, the figurative light bulb coming on above his head. Within seconds of receiving his page, Chase was walking toward the door, while reading the message. "Shit! House is going to kill me." He declared, straightening his clothes.

"No he's not. You're going home." Chase turned to stare at him, as if just realizing he was in Wilson's office. "What he was doing was illegal and House knows it." Wilson grabbed Chase's bag, forgotten next to the couch and handed it off before wrapping his own over his shoulder. "You should have stopped him sooner."

Chase seemed to be struggling with this concept, complacent as Wilson guided him out the door and down the hallway. "He's my boss."

"And making you work such long hours is illegal. If he had any other supervisor and they found out, he would no longer be working here. Cuddy will probably let him off easy, if you choose to tell her."

Chase lapsed into silence, obviously too exhausted to carry on a coherent conversation, not even protesting as Wilson loaded him into his own car. He was asleep within seconds.

Wilson decided it was probably better to let him sleep and drove them to his own home instead of waking the blonde up to get directions. In all likelihood, with the hours he'd been working lately, Chase wouldn't have any food in the house anyway and he needed to eat about as much as he needed to sleep. At least, this is what Wilson reasoned to himself. It was most certainly not because he'd missed the blonde's company and would feel like an intruder if he stayed at the other's place.

Chase didn't protest as he was maneuvered into Wilson's bed and his shoes were removed for him before being tucked in like a child. He didn't protest when Wilson woke him up a half hour later to eat some soup nor when he was instructed to go back to sleep. Around eight in the evening, after ten hours of solid sleeping, Chase drifted into the living room and slumped onto the couch, still looking tired but more coherent.

"You can keep sleeping, you know."

"Hungry." Chase declared, a yawn overtaking his face. He turned the volume on the TV up from where Wilson had kept it so that he wouldn't wake him and flipped through the channels before settling on Scrubs. Wilson returned a minute later with a plateful of leftovers from his own dinner, which he placed directly in Chase's lap.

"Eat." He instructed.

Chase complied, finishing off the food in record time and sliding his plate onto the coffee table. He curled up on his side, resting his head in Wilson's lap and drowsily watching the show. He practically purred when the other doctor hesitantly started running his hand through the golden locks.

"What do you think House will do now? By standing up to him twice and taking me home.. twice, you've basically sworn in blood that we're dating."

Wilson chuckled at the words, though he'd been wondering the same thing. "He's rather unpredictable. I really don't know what he'll do now. We'll probably have to play it by ear. Although, if he seriously believes we're dating then he might try to scare you away. He's successfully driven off more than one wife."

"Should I be scared away?" Chase asked tentatively.

"Definitely not. We don't need to let House's ego get any bigger."

"Right." A yawn took over and Chase was sitting up again. "I should get home soon."

"Your car is still at the hospital. You were a little too out of it to drive."

Chase looked about ready to hit his head on something. "You wouldn't mind-"

Wilson cut him off before the intensivist could finish his thought and ruin his perfectly laid plans. "You could stay here."

"No toothbrush."

"I have a spare."

"No room."

"I'll sleep on the couch."

"No clothes."

"You can borrow mine."

Chase shifted and looked over at Wilson. "You know what that'll do, don't you?"

"I figure it's time we cash in on those betting pools." Wilson stood and extended his hand, it wasn't so much symbolic as it was a doubt that Chase ought to be left to his own devices, even after catching up on some sleep. Chase took the hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, plodding after the other man as he led them into the bedroom, pulling a pair of sweats from his closet and tossing them at the blonde. "You can change in the bathroom. There's a new toothbrush in the cabinet. Feel free to use whatever you need."

Wilson changed while Chase was in the bathroom, then using the room himself to take care of business and brush his teeth. The younger man had already snuggled himself under the blankets by the time Wilson returned, apparently having no qualms with sleeping in someone else's bed.

The blonde grinned. "You don't have to sleep on the couch, you know." He said, just as Wilson was about to leave. The older man was torn. On one hand, sleeping in his own bed with the attractive young doctor was a surprisingly tempting offer. On the other hand, Chase was definitely out of it and waking up in the same bed as Wilson would cause complications when he wasn't so out of it. It was best to move forward only when he was sure it was what they both wanted. Shaking his head, Wilson left, turning out the light with a quiet, "Goodnight."

Wilson wondered when he'd decided that moving forward was what _he_ wanted. Maybe it had been that surge of protectiveness that had come over him upon seeing Chase flopping exhaustedly onto his couch that morning. Or maybe it was the soft expression that covered his face in his sleep, much different than the mask he normally wore. Maybe it had happened just then when Chase invited him to share the bed, and his thoughts (and blood) had suddenly run south.

The oncologist turned out the final light, stumbling around in the dark to the couch and pulling the blanket over himself. Or maybe it had always been there.

.o0o.


	13. Chapter 13

.o0o.

Wilson arrived in his office after an especially grueling appointment to find an envelope addressed to him sitting innocently on his desk. Inside was a letter with just one sentence, 'I said pretend, but I'll take what I can get.' Confused, Wilson looked again in the envelope to find two checks, addressed to him and Chase and signed by Nurse Brenda for a large sum of money. It was only then that he remembered the bet that had started this whole thing.

There was a knock on the door and Chase slipped in the room, setting himself gingerly on the edge of the chair, his expression showed nervousness. With a start, Wilson realized how easily he'd read the other doctor, the other doctor who was known even by those closest to him for being unreadable. Was that mask gone now, did Chase no longer wear the mask around him? Or had Wilson become so good at reading the intensivist that it didn't matter? Either way, he could now read the other doctor like an open book, and the blonde had come in here to tell him that House had noticed, he was sure of it. He'd broken through the ice and was well on his way to solving the Chase puzzle. He was fairly sure that he could simply ask Chase at this point all those little questions that had bothered him. All those things that had made him a puzzle to House.

Wilson didn't ask those questions, and he didn't show Chase the checks and end whatever it was that was going on between them. He stowed them away in his desk drawer and grabbed his coat. "Dinner?"

"Sure."

They could pretend a little longer.

.o0o.

_A/N: It's done!!!!!!!!!!! I wrote all of that except the last two chapters like a year ago. I can't believe it didn't finish it back then. So, submit a review and tell me what you think. _


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